


The Kissing Game

by nightwalker



Category: Avengers, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 21:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 8,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1757811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightwalker/pseuds/nightwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short Steve/Tony fics all about kissing. And flirting. And biting, in one. No one's had any on-screen sex yet, but I'm working on it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the kissing meme that's going around Tumblr. My followers sent me prompts and this is what I came up with. Each ficlet will have the prompt and the universe it's set in (some are MCU, some are 616, some are MA)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by jeanenjolras: Kiss on the stomach. MA!Verse

When Tony gets home from work, his husband is standing on a chair in the kitchen.

“Here?” Steve asks. His hands are stretched up above his head and he’s holding a spring of mistletoe against the ceiling. He’s barefoot, and his shirt is hiked up, revealing pale white skin and a dusting of dark blond hair. Tony licks his lips.

Tigra and Ororo eye it thoughtfully. “Slightly to the left,” Tigra says with a grin and a flick of her tail, and Tony doesn’t realize what she’s doing until Steve shifts and suddenly the mistletoe is directly above Tony’s head.

“Hey, lover,” he says, tipping his head back.

Steve grins down at him, the smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “Hey, you.”

“Is that mistletoe or are you just happy to see me?” 

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Steve says, but he shakes the mistletoe a little bit.

“I guess this means I owe you a kiss,” Tony says. He slides his hands up the back of Steve’s thighs but stops short of cupping his ass in front of their teammates. 

“I could get down?” Steve offers. His tone is mild, but his eyes are focused on Tony’s mouth. 

“No need.” Tony leans in and presses a quick, chaste kiss against the exposed strip of skin. “Of course,” he says, letting his breath puff over Steve’s stomach. “That is a lot of mistletoe. Maybe more than one is in order.” He presses a wet kiss against Steve’s belly and suckles a little, just enough to bring the blood to the surface and make the skin warm to the touch. He hears Steve’s indrawn breath and pulls away before they end up giving Tigra and Ororo more of a show than they ever wanted to see.

Well, Ororo anyway. Tony suspects Tigra would surprise him.

He rubs his hands up and down the back of Steve’s legs. “What do you think?” he asks, letting his mouth curve into a smile that always makes Steve’s eyes go dark with heat. “Was that a good enough kiss for a man with such a big… sprig?”

“Oh goddess,” Ororo says, “I don’t know why you insist on encouraging them.”

Tony grins against Steve’s stomach and presses another kiss to the skin just above the waistline of his jeans. “Are there any other surprises hanging around the mansion?”

Steve tosses the mistletoe to Tigra and steps down. Tony lets his hands slide up Steve’s legs until his arms are wrapped around his husband’s waist. “Maybe one or two,” he says, sliding his arms around Tony’s back. “Want me to show you?”

“Absolutely,” Tony says. “Maybe more than once.”


	2. A Kiss Along the Hip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Directorshellhead who asked for a kiss along the hip. Meant to be 616, but could really be any universe.

Steve nuzzled at the soft skin where Tony’s thigh and groin met, licked the crease there, tasting sweat and salt and musk, then kissed his way across to Tony’s hip. He skimmed his lips over the days-old marks his fingers had left there and lingered to kiss the new ones just starting to bloom. “Okay?” he asked, because he knew it was, knew Tony liked it when Steve left marks on his skin, knew that Tony loved that Steve wanted to mark him.

"Steve," Tony said and his voice was wrecked and breathless with the effort not to move. "Steve, please, please, now, God.”

"Not yet." Steve dragged his teeth over the soft swell of flesh at the edge of Tony’s hip. "I’m not quite done." 

Tony came when Steve bit down, leaving a mark that would take days to fade.


	3. A Kiss on Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anonymous commenter asked for a "goofy kiss." Set in 616.
> 
> You have no idea how close I came to making this an AU where they worked at Disneyland and one of them was wearing the Goofy costume. No idea.

"Movie night," Steve said, "is a time honored tradition-"

Tony rolled his eyes and didn’t move from his place on the floor of his workshop. “Movie night never actually existed until about six months ago when Jan decided we all needed to spend time together that didn’t involve any sort of apocalypse.” 

"We’ve done movie nights before," Steve argued, but it was mostly for form.

"Informally," Tony said. He was surrounded by a holographic display of what looked like the inside of his old R/T and as Steve watched, he flicked his fingers to enlarge a certain part. "With no set schedule or formal declaration. It wasn’t Movie Night. It was just a series of random and unconnected nights when several of us decided to watch a movie. Not a tradition.”

"We can make it a tradition." Steve leaned against the doorway, unwilling to enter and risk kicking or stepping on the parts Tony had strewn across the floor. It looked like an engine had exploded in there, but Steve knew there was a method to Tony’s mess and he wasn’t willing to disrupt it. "Anyway, movie night has been very good at team bonding, wouldn’t you say?"

Tony smirked. “Well, aside from you shoving your tongue down my throat halfway through Gravity, no. Not really.”

Steve shrugged. “You and space travel makes me anxious. What can I say? Anyway, I notice you returned the favor as soon as I stopped.”

"It was really unfortunate Peter decided to sit between us that night."

Steve coughed into his hand because otherwise he’d start laughing and Tony did not need the encouragement to start teasing Peter again. “Look, movie night starts in fifteen minutes. That’s just enough time to get upstairs, clean up, and then threaten to perform public displays of affection unless whoever claimed the couch lets us have it.”

"We’re gonna perform them anyway, right?"

"God yes," Steve said. 

Tony tipped his head back and grinned at Steve. “Well… All right. I’ll come upstairs. For a kiss.”

Steve rolled his eyes this time, but he stepped through the doorway and picked his way across the workshop to Tony’s side. “Come upstairs with me,” he said and he knelt down to press a wet, sloppy kiss against Tony’s mouth. “Please?” he said while Tony slapped his chest and laughed. “Come on.” He licked Tony’s cheek. “Pretty please?”

"It’s like kissing a labrador," Tony said, but he rolled up onto his knees and caught Steve’s mouth with his in a kiss that burned the breath out of Steve’s lungs. His fingers curled in the fabric of Steve’s shirt and held him close until the kiss ended.

"Come upstairs," Steve said and he pressed a softer kiss against Tony’s bottom lip. 

Tony went.


	4. A Kiss by the Pool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was prompted by kurowrites who asked for a kiss on the stomach. 616 or MA-verse.

Tony was lying stretched out on his back on the pool side lounge - no cheap plastic lawn chairs here, not at Tony Stark’s summer house in the Hamptons. He looked thoroughly relaxed, his skin tanned a slightly deeper brown than usual and starting to flush a little pink across his nose and at the tips of his ears. His hair had dried into curls from the heat of the sun, and Steve wanted to tangle his fingers in it and tug until Tony came to him for a kiss. Instead he gave himself a little mental shake and deposited the plate of burgers and potato salad on the table that sat between their chairs.

"Food’s ready," he announced. "Thor and Luke outdid themselves this time."

Tony held a hand over his eyes to shade them from the afternoon sun. “I must have dozed off,” he said, blinking up at Steve with a little surprise. “I swear they were just talking about firing up the grill a second ago.”

Steve handed Tony one of the cans of ice-cold soda he’d pulled out of the cooler. “You drifted off about a half an hour ago. You looked comfortable so I let you rest.” He’d toyed with the idea of carrying him back to their bed, but Tony had looked so comfortable that Steve hadn’t wanted to risk disturbing him. Beside, some fresh air and sunlight never hurt anyone. 

Tony yawned and stretched, his t-shirt riding up a little and showing a thin strip of paler skin above the waist of his swim trunks. Without thinking about it, Steve leaned over and pressed a kiss against it, feeling the soft skin of Tony’s stomach beneath his lips, the dusting of hair that he loved to rub his cheek against. He could smell chlorine and sunscreen where it had dried on Tony’s skin.

"Hmm," Tony said. He ran a hand over Steve’s head. "Tickles a little."

Steve grinned and kissed a different piece of skin before he sat up. “I know. Come on, eat your lunch.” He brushed a finger over Tony’s cheekbone. “If you want, I can put some more sunscreen on you when you’re done.”

"Only if you let me return the favor." Tony stretched up and tapped a finger against the end of Steve’s nose. "Your freckles are showing."


	5. The Most Intimate Kiss of All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was prompted by an anon, who asked for cunninglingus. I wasn't in a genderswap sort of mood, so I wrote theoretical genderswap instead. MCU.

"Of course I would," Tony said, and he made the effort to sound genuinely affronted. "I don’t know what you take me for, Barton, but I’m not that kind of an asshole.”

Clint was mostly drunk. Thor was buzzed. Natasha was either completely wasted and successfully hiding it, or completely sober and manipulating them, Tony honestly couldn’t tell which. Rhodes, Pepper and Wilson were pretty sober, but that’s because none of them ever agreed to play by Clint’s rules. Barnes was smashed and sprawled upside down in Natasha’s favorite papasan chair.Steve, of course, was sober as a judge.

Tony was at worst slightly tipsy and had already stopped drinking because Steve flat out refused to have sex with Tony if he thought the alcohol might have impaired his decision making abilities. If Tony has learned anything in the last few years it’s that sex with Steve Rogers is better than any alcohol, even the royal mead that Thor once smuggled out of his father’s cellar. So he sipped his first couple of drinks and then cut himself off. If Clint has noticed that Tony’s taking shots of Mountain Dew, he hasn’t mentioned it.

Clint’s eyebrows were trying to climb off his face. Tony actually loved that. The guy had the straightest poker face Tony’d ever seen, but the second you got a few drinks in him he telegraphed every thought he’d ever had. “So you claim that if Capsicle here,” he clapped Steve on the arm a little harder than he would have were he completely sober, “got Loki’d into a woman-“

"Loki’d?" Tony and Steve echoed.

"Loki?" Thor asked, blinking over his shoulder at them. He’d bored with Clint’s version of a drinking game as soon as he’d realized no one was going to be dueling, sparring or slaying anything and was watching cartoons on the couch.

"Figure of speech," Clint said, waving a hand through the air. It came very close to Steve’s face. "Anyway, if Winghead here were magicked or scienced or somethinged into a girl, you think you’d go down under on her?"

"Not if he were a girl,” Tony said while Steve mouthed the word “Winghead” in an indignant way. “That’s not cool, Clint. Now if he were a woman, then yeah. Absolutely. Well,” he amended, “assuming Steve was okay with that. He might not be comfortable with that, especially at first.”

"I like blow jobs," Steve said, which Tony considered to be a dramatic understatement of facts. "I’d probably like cunninglingus as well. But it depends on where this female body came from. Is it mine? Did I just get turned into a female version of myself? If he body-swapped me with a woman, then I’d probably decline to have sex out of respect to the original inhabitant until we were positive it was impossible to switch us back."

"It’s better than a blow job," Natasha said. She was sitting at the opposite end of the table, swirling something amber-colored around a crystal tumbler. She leaned forward and braced her arms against the table like she was imparting a secret. "Tongues are much more flexible than a penis and a woman’s body can come forever if you treat it right." She shifted her weight in the chair with a teasing smile. "Once you got Tony on his knees for you, you’d never let him up."

Steve coughed. “That seems unfair.”

"Does he still have the super-strength in the new body?" Tony asked Clint. "Because I’d miss that. Oh my God, though, Cap, do you have any idea how strong a woman’s thighs are when she’s orgasming? Jesus, you couldn’t even need to hold me there, you could just wrap your legs around my head and-"

"I’m suddenly uncomfortable with this topic of conversation," Sam said.

Rhodey reached over to grab a beer out of the cooler. “Get used to it. Tony’s got no filter when he’s with friends, and Cap’s got a surprisingly filthy mind for someone who’s supposed to be a paragon of virtue.”

"There’s nothing filthy about a healthy sex life," Steve said. "But I think if I had the super strength I’d want to test the new body out a little before we did anything like that."

"You could crack my head like a walnut," Tony said cheerfully and Natasha snorted into her drink.

"Are you sure you’re that good?" Clint asked. He waggled his drink in Tony’s direction. "Maybe you couldn’t get him off that way."

"Yes he could," Steve and Pepper said in unison. Over on the couch, Rhodey started laughing.

"I hate all of you," Bucky said mournfully from the papasan chair.


	6. A Kiss in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Anonymous commenter asked for "collarbones kiss". Set in the MA-verse.

Tony kicked him.

Steve groaned into his pillow and shifted away an inch or two, just in case. But a second kick was not forthcoming. Instead Tony made a sound, like a choked-off whine, a sound Steve had heard a dozen times before. More.

He blinked into the darkness. It was late - or very early, the bedside clock showed it to be just past four in the morning - and the room was still dark, lit only by the small dots of light from charging cell phones and tablets, from Steve’s laptop by the window. The arc reactor itself was a bright star in the darkness, one Steve could see even with his eyes closed and couldn’t sleep well without anymore.

The light was more than enough to see by, and he saw Tony, on his back, hands clenched into fists at his sides. His entire body was rigid and tense and he’d be sore in the morning if he stayed like that. 

Steve slid a hand over Tony’s stomach, slow and careful. If the touch was too light it could startle Tony awake, too heavy and it played into the nightmares and only made things worse. He kept well away from the arc reactor.

"It’s okay," he said, voice pitched low and soothing. In the morning he’d ask what Tony had dreamed about, but it was even odds that he’d remember any of it. "You’re home now. It’s okay." He rubbed a comforting circle against the soft skin of Tony’s belly, stroked his fingers against the thin trail of hair as some of the tension slowly eased out of Tony’s body. 

He shifted closer until he was pressed against Tony’s side, “It’s just me. You’re safe here.” He kissed the thin line of Tony’s collarbone before laying his head on Tony’s shoulder. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Go back to sleep.”


	7. Healing Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Krusca, who asked for an underwater kiss. This is probably not what she had in mind.
> 
> Warnings: This chapter contains non-graphic references to past torture.

Tony loved the smell of chlorine.

“Or salt,” he said, lazily splashing one hand in the water. He was floating, his head tipped back just enough that his ears were beneath the water and his own voice sounded echoing and far away. His eyes were closed against the sun but he can sense the light behind his eyelids. “Salt water’s just as good.”

“Not freshwater?” Peter was sitting on the poolside just a few feet away and Tony can hear the dull swoosh of his kicking his feet in the water. His words sound like they’re coming through the vacuum of space. “What, freshwater’s not fancy enough?”

“No salt water in the cave,” he said. “No chlorine there, either.”

There was a moment of silence where the water almost went still. He could imagine his teammates pausing to exchange a quick glance; half of them uncomfortable, the others concerned. He didn’t speak about Afghanistan often, after all.

The water lapped at the side of his face for a moment before a shadow came between him and the sun. Water dripped on his face and he opened his eyes to see Steve leaning over him, an easy smile on his lips, his hair dripping wet from his swim.

“I thought we came out here to swim laps,” Steve said. The sun was illuminating him from behind and he looked like he was smoldering, like at any moment he’d catch fire.

Tony briefly considered dunking him. “I think you came out here to swim laps. I came out here to relax and look at my boyfriend in a bitty pair of swim trunks.”

“They are awfully bitty,” Natasha said, but she didn’t sound like she was complaining.

“Cuts down on the water resistance,” Steve said with a straight face, like he’d thought of that himself. Tony, who could remember the look on Steve’s face when Tony had bought them for him, bit back a smirk.

Clint laughed. “I’d say yours isn’t much bigger, Tasha, but that would imply that I’ve actually looked directly at it.”

Natasha’s bikini was a pale lavender and made a handkerchief on a string look like a house frock. Tony strongly approved.

There was a muffled splash, then the sound of someone walking through the water. “So the pool doesn’t bother you as long as it smells like chlorine?”

Steve frowned, just a little. Tony slid a hand against his thigh beneath the water, reassuring him. “For the most part.” He let his palm rest on the back of Steve’s leg, content to lie there with the water lapping at his sides, Steve warm and strong and solid beneath his palm. “If you snuck up behind me and shoved my head under water, we might have a different story.”

Clint snorted. “If I did that I’d deserve the ass-kicking you’d deliver as soon as you got back in the armor.” His words seemed to mollify Steve somewhat, as the soldier’s muscles relaxed slightly beneath Tony’s hand. “I don’t know that the chlorine helped me any. Mostly it was the sound of the filter.”

“Yeah?” Tony pulled his gaze away from Steve’s face to squint up at Clint. The archer was standing just a couple of feet away and while Tony watched, he kicked his feet out from under himself and dunked himself under water. When he came back up he stayed on his knees, so most of his body was submerged.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s basically just white noise, but the guys who interrogated me just used a tub full of water in an empty warehouse. No machines anywhere. So when I finally worked up the nerve to stick my head under water for the first time after that, I realized I could hear the pool filter and it reminded me I was at SHIELD HQ and not an empty warehouse in Kiev.”

“I’ve tried swimming in lakes,” Tony admitted. “I can’t do it. I can walk out into the water, but when I try to go underwater, I panic.” He panicked if anyone got anywhere near him, which Rhodey had learned the hard way. “I can’t handle people, either, in lakes. I just tense up and wait for the hand to push me under, no matter who’s with me.”

“Are we crowding you?” Natasha asked and the muscle under Tony’s hand was tense again.

“No.” If they were anyone else he might be less comfortable. SHIELD agents, or strangers at a pool were a different thing entirely than his teammates, and he’d probably at least get his feet under him if that were the case. “You guys are good.”

Steve’s hand was wet when it skimmed over Tony’s forehead and combed through his hair. “You feel safe with us.”

It was a hell of a thing for him to admit, when he can barely bring himself to admit that he liked them living in his house, that he trusted them to watch his back in combat. This was something entirely worse and at the same time, easier. “I am safe with you.” He stared up at Steve when he said it. Let the others think he was talking to his lover if they want to. He and Steve both know better.

Steve smiled down at him and when he lowered his head for a kiss, Tony was ready for him. Steve kept the pressure light, but Tony hooked an arm around his neck and let his weight drag them both beneath the water. He could feel the stream of bubbles against his cheek as Steve exhaled slowly through his nose, and he could taste chlorine when the water rushed in as their mouths met and parted.

He surfaced with a grin, shaking water out of his face as Steve wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist and pulled him back against the soldier’s chest. Steve’s skin felt hot from the sun and Tony let Steve support his weight entirely, going lax in his lover’s arms and letting his head fall back against one broad shoulder, breathing in the scent of sunscreen and chlorine and Steve.

Natasha was watching them with a lazy grin and Peter was rolling his eyes. Clint pursed his lips thoughtfully. “You know, I have an idea.”

****

The lake was wide and deep. The water looked ominously dark and placid. Tony stood on the shore for a long while before he walked in.

The others mostly gave him space, wandering a bit along the shore with approximately a hundred inflatable pool toys. They were close enough that he could hear them shouting, and close enough that they could hear him if he needed them.

He’d cut his own throat before admitting it, but he kept Clint’s story in his mind. There was no filter here, and no chlorine, but he could hear Peter’s wild laughter and Ororo’s cheerful shouts. He could hear Steve calling for someone to pass him the sunscreen, and Jan’s shrieks as Hulk drenched her with a cannonball.

He wasn’t in Afghanistan. He chanted it like a mantra as he walked out into the water. He wasn’t in Afghanistan. He slid into the water and swam a few strokes, then rolled onto his back and closed his eyes before he could see the blue of the sky.

He could hear his heart pounding in his hears. He was breathing too fast, but he wasn’t panicking.

He wasn’t in Afghanistan.

Further down the shore, Rhodey was shouting for someone to start up the grill already.

Tony pulled in a deep breath and held it for a long minute. The lake water smelled like algae and damp earth and fish. The water they’d had in the cave had smelled stale and it had been tainted with the oil and grease and gunpowder that surrounded them. It had left a metallic taste in his mouth that he hadn’t been able to really wash away for weeks after he returned.

He wasn’t in Afghanistan. He couldn’t be in Afghanistan because his nostrils weren’t full of the stink of sweat and gunpowder. He wasn’t in Afghanistan because his chest didn’t burn with the fever-hot pain of infection. He wasn’t in Afghanistan because Steve and Rhodey and the team were here and they’d never let him get trapped in that cave again.

A shadow came between him and the sun. He looked up and Steve was smiling down at him. “You okay?” Steve asked.

“If I was drowning,” Tony started to say.

“I’d breathe for you,” Steve said, sincerity and determination packed into every word.

When he bent down for a kiss, Tony wrapped an arm around Steve’s neck and pulled them both beneath the surface of the lake. Steve’s mouth opened beneath his and Tony breathed in the air from his lungs until they made it back to the surface.


	8. The Reassuring Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked for a forehead kiss. MA-verse

"Second thoughts?" Steve asked.

Tony shook his head once, firmly. “No. Never. Just - nerves. This is a huge step. And-” He paused for a long moment, biting his bottom lip and obviously struggling with himself.

Steve waited, leaning against the doorway of the dressing room. It wasn’t the time to rush him, and whatever Tony had to say, Steve wanted to hear it. 

"Don’t be mad," Tony said.

"Ominous," Steve said. He offered Tony a wry smile. "Look. Whatever you’re trying to psyche yourself up to say to me, just say it. I promise I won’t get mad. At least not without hearing you out," he added.

"I’m not having second thoughts," Tony said. "I’m not. I’ll never change my mind."

Steve nodded, trying to encourage him.

"But I’m… look, I’m trying, I promise." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "And I know I’m going to piss you off, but I have to say this. It’ll eat at me if I don’t."

"Then say it. Whatever it is. I can take it, I promise. And if it pisses me off, then we’ll talk about it."

"If you’re going to change your mind, do it now." Tony hunched his shoulders for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet Steve’s. "I - if you have even the slightest second thought, if you’re hesitating at all. Just… walk away now. Because I can survive that, Steve, I swear I could. But if you change your mind tomorrow, or next week or - I think that would be more than I can take."

Steve crossed the room to wrap his arms around Tony, pulling him close against Steve’s chest. “I’m not having second thoughts,” Steve said to the top of Tony’s head. Tony’s hands came up to rest on his hips. “I’m not hesitating. I have absolutely no doubts whatsoever. I can’t promise what things are going to be like ten years from now, Tony, but I can promise that I’ll fight for you - for us - if things ever start to go wrong.”

"Okay." Tony nuzzled the side of Steve’s throat. "Thank you. I just - I needed to hear that. I’m sorry."

"There’s no shame in needing reassurance." Steve rubbed his hands up and down Tony’s back. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes."

"Then don’t apologize. And I’m not mad.If you ever need me to say it again, just ask. If you let it build up and fester, that would be worse. Deal?"

"Deal." Tony offered him a wry smile. "I know I’m a challenge. But I’m getting better. You know. Slowly."

"You’re almost perfect." Steve dropped a kiss on Tony’s forehead. "Now let’s get moving. Pepper can’t stall the priest forever."


	9. A Happy Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ricochet/post-and-out asked for a "happy last kiss". 
> 
> Warning: technically a deathfic . See the endnotes if you want a more complete warning

"This is not how I expected us to go out," Tony said.

Steve kissed the top of his head. “It’s exactly how I thought it would happen.”

"Yes, but you’re an optimist," Tony said.

They were alone in the house, at their own request. When the end came, there’d be no one to try and prolong it, or prevent it. 

"When Thor’s mom put the whammy on us, I really thought there’d be some kind of consequence," Tony admitted. 

Frigga’s wedding gift had been a blessing. That they’d never have to live without each other. It had seemed like simply another form of congratulations, a well-wishing like a dozen others, until Thor had explained what it meant. His step-mother had literally blessed them, tying their lives together so that one would not outlive the other. 

"Well, if would have been really embarrassing if I’d gotten run over by a bus the day after the wedding," Steve said. 

Combat had terrified Tony when he realized what it meant. His reckless streak had disappeared literally overnight once he’d realized that his death would mean Steve’s as well. 

"Do you regret anything?" Tony asked him. "Do you regret this?” He gestured between them. “With the serum, you might have lived another hundred years. I might be taking you to an early death, you know.”

"I’m still human," Steve said quietly. He slid his other arm around Tony’s waist. "I don’t want to be immortal, even if I could. I don’t want to live a hundred years watching everyone I love die around me. I’ve lost everyone once, Tony. Doing it again would be the worst kind of hell." He shifted his weight and pulled Tony closer to his chest. "Hell, for two guys who used to spend their days fighting aliens and stopping the apocalypse, ninety-five is practically immortal."

Tony was beautiful, even now. His hair was still dark but streaked with silver. His eyes were still as bright as the sky. He was still vibrant in a way that men decades younger weren’t. And he was still so smart it made Steve’s head spin sometimes. But his heart was failing and would, eventually, stop.

And Steve’s with it. Frigga’s blessing or no, Steve thought maybe it would have happened like this anyway. 

Tony curled his hand in Steve’s shirt, and his skin had gone ashen. “Kiss me one last time?” he asked.

"For the rest of our lives," Steve said. Tears burned in his eyes as he took Tony’s mouth in a kiss as sweet as the first one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic is about Steve and Tony at age 95, talking about how they're going to die together because of an Asgardian spell. It is strongly implied that Tony's heart is giving out at the end.


	10. A Kiss Between Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anonymous poster asked for "can i have something where tony chooses peter instead of steve, it would be an interesting change" which is not really a kiss. But I worked a hand kiss in there at the end, so there you go. ^_^ 
> 
> 616 verse. This chapter is former Steve/Tony and current Tony/Peter Quill

"Come back," Steve says. "We can do this together. The Avengers World you were building - it’s brilliant. And I know we can make that happen together."

It’s everything Tony had wanted to hear for a long time. But he shakes his head. “No.”

Steve’s face falls and he looks away. “You want to stay with him.”

"I do. I love you. That’s not really a secret. But you and I bring out the absolute worst in each other sometimes, you know that. And Peter-" Tony grimaces, because he doesn’t know a better way to say it. "Peter loves me for who I am now, not for who I’d be if I were more like him."

Steve exhales heavily. “That’s hard. Not necessarily unfair. But…”

"Well, I was hardly faultless, now was I? I idolize you. We both know it, we both ignored it. And it’s not fair to you."

"It’s not fair to you when you make yourself the villain just to spare me the hard choices," Steve said.

"I don’t have to do that here. I’m happy here, with him. For what that’s worth."

Steve holds out his hand, and when Tony takes it, he grips it just shy of painful. “That’s worth everything. I do actually want you to be happy. I had just hoped maybe I could finally be the one to do that. But if this is your home now, I’m happy for you.”

"You do make me happy. I’m a better man when I’m standing next to you. It’s just all those times we went behind each other’s backs." He shrugs and grips Steve’s hand tightly. "I’m never more than a call away. You know I’ll be back if you ever need anything. I just have a different team now. You and me, Steve. We’re never gonna lose each other. Not entirely."

"You said he loves you," Steve said. "Do you love him?"

"I do."

"He makes you happy. He treats you right."

"He does."

"All right." Steve brings their joined hands to his lips and kisses the back of Tony’s hand. "You and me, Tony. Friends."

"Friends," Tony echoed with a wavery smile.

"And Avengers."

This time Tony’s smile is brighter. “Always.”


	11. Upside Down Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kahn asked for an "upside down kiss".
> 
> MA!verse

"Why are you on the ceiling?" Steve asked.

"It’s kind of a long story?" Tony cocked his head to the side. "Okay, no, it’s not. Blah, blah, sorceress, blah, blah, walking a mile in each other’s shoes, blah, blah, a bunch of us have each other’s powers now. I’m Spider-Man!"

That explained the reason why his husband was sitting cross-legged on their bedroom ceiling. “Is this permanent?”

Tony shrugged. “Thor seems to think it’s temporary. Apparently witches like to do this sort of thing to teach you a lesson, but it wears off after a little while. Mind you, Thor’s essentially immortal, so his definition of a little while may be up for debate. Hank says maybe a week.”

A week didn’t seem so bad. Steve dropped his duffle on the chair by the door and toed his shoes off. “So whose powers does Peter have?”

"Ororo’s. She and Thor took him out of the city till he got a grip on things." Tony held his hand up - or down, technically - and started ticking teammates off on his fingers. "Ororo has Logan’s healing factor, but isn’t willing to test out the claws - don’t blame her. Luke and Carol switched, so she’s bitching about how much it sucks not to be able to fly and he’s trying to convince Jess and Danny to join the Mile High Club. Logan has me, I think? So he’s just a normal guy with a bad hair cut at the moment. And Hank and Jan have each other’s powers, so basically it’s situation normal for them."

"You’re all okay? This hasn’t hurt anyone?"

"Well, if we don’t get turned back soon, there’s a chance that Logan will die of adamantium poisoning, but we’ve got a while before we have to start worrying."

Steve paused directly below him. “And you’re okay?”

Tony grinned down at him. “It’s kind of cool. I don’t usually mind being the normal one on a team of ridiculously strong super-humans, but damn. Peter needs to be working this a little harder. If I had these powers full-time, I think I’d never come off the ceiling.”

"I’d get awful lonely down here without you," Steve said. 

Tony grinned like a little kid in an amusement park. “Watch this.” He fell away from the ceiling abruptly and Steve had his arms out to catch him instantly. But Tony stopped when he was hanging upside-down in the air before Steve, their faces just inches apart. “This is so much fun.”

Steve kissed him, tilting his head a little to make up for the awkward angle. Tony’s nose bumped against his chin and his husband laughed against Steve’s mouth. 

"Put your shoes back on," Tony said. "I’ve been practicing with the webs, and I want to take you for a ride."


	12. A Kiss Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An anon asked: "Could I prompt a bonus kiss? I was inspired by your last post. A last kiss with Tony/Peter Quill"
> 
> 616!verse with Tony/Peter and Tony/Steve

Peter clapped a hand over Tony’s mouth before he could speak.

"Hey. No." He grinned and shrugged. "Look, I knew the score when we came here. I’ve known all along." He shoved his free hand in his pocket so Tony wouldn’t see his fingers curl into a fist. "Neither one of us expected this to be forever."

Tony pulled away from his hand and Peter let him, shoving that hand into his pocket as well. “Peter.”

"Look. You told me from the very beginning that you were still in love with Captain Asshat over there." Peter hadn’t looked at Steve Rogers since he and Tony had come up to the roof together, the connection between them so fucking obvious that a complete stranger could know it for what it was. "And you told me from day one that you didn’t think that was ever going to change. I knew what I was doing then and I know what I’m doing now."

"I feel like I’m being unfair," Tony said in a low voice.

Peter resisted the urge to laugh, because he had the uncomfortable feeling that he’d never stop. “What’s fair? Look, I knew you weren’t going to stay. Once day the Sentinel of Stupidity over there would realize what he’d given up and try to get you back. I went in knowing that. Okay?” He met Tony’s eyes straight on. “I knew you would leave eventually. I know you didn’t love me. And I knew, I knew it Tony, that every second I got to be with you was worth this happening one day. So don’t apologize, or talk about fairness. I got more out of the last year than you did and we both know it.”

Tony stepped up into his personal space and before Peter realized what was happening, Tony’s hands were around his waist and his mouth was on Peter’s. The kiss was slow and deep and when Tony finally pulled away, Peter dug his nails into his thighs to stop himself from reaching out and pulling him back.

"I love you, you imbecile." Tony grinned at him, something quick and a little sad. "Don’t be stupid, of course I do."

If the universe were fair, they’d kiss again. Tony would come back to the ship with him. They’d fuck a ridiculous number of times and then they’d get something close to a happy ending - or at least more time to be together. 

But the universe wasn’t fair, and you can’t choose who you love. “I swear to God, Tony. If he ever hurts you like that again I’ll find the darkest hole on the most distant planet and I will throw him there and let him rot where he can never set his eyes on you again.”

"He won’t. Neither of us will. We’re smarter than we were a year ago. And a little stronger, I think. I am at least." He smiled at Peter, his blue eyes painfully bright and crinkling at the corners. "In no small part because of you."

"You made yourself stronger. I was just lucky enough to be there to see it." Peter forced himself to take a step back, to put a little distance between them, because it was going to happen no matter what, and it might be a little easier if it was on his terms. "You ever need anything, you call me.”

"I will if you will," Tony promised, and then there was nothing left to say.

Peter didn’t watch Tony walk away from him. Instead he watched Rogers while the soldier watched Tony. He saw it - just for an instant - the desperate relief as Tony turned away and walked back to him.

It felt good, in a dark and petty kind of way, to know that Captain Fucking America thought that Peter Quill might have been a threat to him, that Peter might have been able to convince Tony to leave with him.

And then it burned, because maybe he could have and he didn’t even try.


	13. A Last Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **WARNING:** This is a deathfic. Please use your own discretion.
> 
> This was written for an anon prompt: "Could I prompt a bonus kiss? I was inspired by your last post. A last kiss with Tony/Peter Quill" Chapter Twelve was inspired by the same prompt.
> 
> This chapter is 616!verse and is Starkquill (Peter Quill/Tony Stark).

"No," Peter said. His hands were red and the blood wouldn’t stop, it just kept bubbling up between his fingers no matter how hard he pressed. “No. No.”

"Sorry," Tony said. His eyes were bright, and though he had to be in agony, he managed a smile. "Peter, I want to tell you-"

"Don’t. Save it." Peter clenched his eyes shut and ducked his head, tried not to feel the terrible warmth of Tony’s blood trickling over his fingers.

"I love you," Tony said. "Should've said so sooner, but you know me."

"Please don’t," Peter said. "Please - the others will be back any minute now."

Tony’s lifted his hand, curled it over Peter’s where they were pressed against Tony’s chest. “You gave me a home when I had none. A reason to live, when I’d given up. Love, when I thought no one ever would again.”

"You’re an idiot," Peter said. The words came thick out of his throat and his eyes burned with a heat that he refused to let free. "You have friends still, Tony. And you can’t expect me to go back to Earth and tell War Machine that I let you get killed out here. Don’t make me do that, don’t-" He hunched his shoulders and swallowed as his voice cracked. "Don’t leave. Don’t leave me."

"Look at me." Tony’s voice was weaker than it had been a minute ago and Peter wanted to scream with every drop of blood that slid over his fingers. Tony was dying right in front of him and he was useless here. "Peter."

He raised his eyes, lifted his gaze from the terrible hole in Tony’s chest to the bright blue eyes that he’d woken up to nearly every day for the last five years. 

"It’s okay," Tony said and Peter wanted to scream at him.

"It’s not okay, you idiot.” Peter leaned down, pressed his forehead against Tony’s. “I love you, too. I’m sorry, please don’t leave me.”

Tony’s hand gripped his tightly for a moment, then slid away.

Peter stayed like that for a long moment, until the last warmth of Tony’s breath had faded from his skin. Then he kissed the lips he’d kissed a thousand times before and never would again.


	14. A Crying Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by mari-the-mole: "Thorny, crying kiss because I DON’T CURR I MAKE PROMPT?"
> 
> SHE MAKE GOOD PROMPT
> 
> Thor/Tony, 616!ish

"Forgive me," Thor said. He wrapped his hand around the back of Tony’s neck, holding him carefully still as he let the water pour over Tony’s brow and closed eyes, washing away the last traces of shampoo. He set the cup he’d used aside and grabbed one of the hand towels off the sink to carefully pat Tony’s face dry. "That was careless of me."

Tony blinked and squinted, his eyes a little red from the soap. “Ah, no worries, big guy.” He closed his eyes again almost immediately and the furrow between his brows said they still pained him. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Thor shifted until he was on his knees beside Tony, the movement making the water lap at the sides of the tub. “I fear you’ll never trust me with so intimate a gesture again,” he said ruefully as he used the towel to wipe away droplets of water from Tony’s hair before they could get anywhere near his eyes.

"You know, I love that about you," Tony said. He blinked hard once, his eyes tearing up but already looking less red than they had a moment ago. "You have had your tongue in places that most men don’t think tongues belong, but you think me letting you wash my hair is intimate."

"It is intimate. Care given between lovers is always intimate." Thor used his thumb to wipe away a tear that hovered on Tony’s eyelash, kissed a second one off his cheek. "Though the tongue thing was quite personal as well, I’ll own."

Tony ducked his head and laughed. Thor, convinced that the pain had finally eased, took Tony’s chin in his hand and kissed him breathless.

"Now," Thor said, parting just enough to reach for the bottle beside the tub. "Close your eyes."

Tony did, his lips curved in a trusting smile.


	15. Comforting Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by VibraniumStark. Forehead kisses in 616/MA!Verse

Steve opened the door to their bedroom only as far as absolutely necessary and slipped inside, closing it quickly and quietly behind him before too much light from the outside could slide in behind him. He toed his shoes off and left them by the side of the door, then padded quietly across the room toward the bed.

Tony lay sprawled across his half of the mattress, his arms flung out, the sheets tangled around his legs where he’d tried to kick them off in his sleep. He was naked and Steve could see the flush of fever across his chest and throat.

Tony coughed, a chest-deep hacking that shook the entire bed and made him curl up, his arms wrapped around his chest to brace himself against the force of it.

Steve sat at the side of the bed and rubbed his hand against Tony’s back while he coughed, half soothing and half supporting his partner while he struggled to get his breathing back under control.

"Ugh," Tony said when the fit had passed. He made a tired whining sound in the back of his throat and leaned back against Steve’s touch.

"Sounds bad," Steve said sympathetically. Jan had told him Tony was ill - Tony was often ill since the heart transplant, a fact none of them really wanted to dwell on - but she’d been adamant that it was just a bad cold. "Has it been like this the whole time?"

Tony sighed, which seemed to prompt another coughing spell, though this one was mercifully short. “No,” he said finally. His voice was raspy and it sounded like it was painful for him to talk. “I think it’s getting worse because my throat’s a mess.”

The cough had sounded awfully phlegmy to Steve, but he was willing to let Tony make the call as long as he didn’t get much worse. “I can get you some cough drops? Or honey with lemon?”

"Jan force fed me half a bottle of Robitussin and then made me three versions of a non-alcoholic hot toddy and then sat there and stared at me till I drank all of them."

"What’s a non-alcoholic hot toddy?" Steve asked.

"Tea with lemon and honey." Tony cracked a grin. "It sounds more therapeutic the other way though. But I’ve got lozenges and tissues and god knows what else. I don’t really need anything."

"You need a good night’s sleep," Steve said. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Tony’s forehead. "You’re warm. I’ll get you some aspirin."

Tony’s hand snaked around Steve’s wrist. “I’ve had some. I’m fine, Steve, really. Just - stay for a little while?”

Steve hesitated a moment. “I’ll make you hot.”

"I’m hot anyway. And I’d feel better. If you would stay." Tony wasn’t looking at him, but the hold on his wrist hadn’t loosened. Steve settled back down onto the mattress, and Tony sagged almost unnoticeably with relief.

Tony liked to be pampered when he was ill, Steve remembered. Not fussed over with medicine and doctor’s visits, but coddled and cared for. “Tell you what, it’s getting late anyway. Let me change and I’ll turn in early.”

This time Tony let him go as he slid out of their bed to undress. He brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face, then hurried back. Tony was still awake and another coughing fit seized him as Steve climbed into bed.

"Come here," Steve said. He propped himself up against the pillows until his was nearly sitting up, gathered Tony up against his chest. His partner was warm to the touch and his skin sheened with a layer of sweat. They’d both be warm and Steve made a mental note to turn the air conditioning up a little once Tony had fallen back asleep. 

"I’m going to keep you up," Tony murmured against Steve’s chest. "Sorry."

Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s hair, combing through the dark curls at the base of his neck where sweat was starting to gather. “It’s okay. You know I can sleep through anything.” He kissed Tony’s forehead again, the skin warm against his lips, but nothing like the dry heat of a dangerous fever. “I want to make you feel better,” he said against Tony’s skin. “I want to be with you. So don’t worry about me, all I need is for you to be all right.”

Tony sighed, his breath a warm puff of air against Steve’s chest. “Love you.”

He rested his cheek against Tony’s hair as his partner slipped back into sleep. “Love you too.”


	16. A Different Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laieshi/Iloome asked for an eyelid kiss. 616!verse

"No crying," Steve said, and if his voice cracked a little on the vowels, he knew Tony would be the last one to call him on it. His hands cupped Tony’s face and he pressed his lips to Tony’s forehead for as long as it took him to pull in a deep breath, to steady his hands, to figure out what he could possibly say next.

"They don’t deserve your tears," he said finally. 

"You did," Tony said quietly. 

"I don’t want them." Steve rubbed his thumb against the dark hollows beneath Tony’s right eye, wiped away the wetness. He dipped his head and kissed the skin, soft and warm and stained with salt. Tony made a soft noise and his eyes fluttered shut and Steve had to kiss that too, so delicate and quivering beneath his lips. "I’ve had enough of your pain." He kissed the other one, like a benediction, like a promise. "This time will be different."


	17. A Kiss in the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anon asked for a kiss on the neck. Any verse, really, but probably MA.

He wakes up when Steve presses a soft kiss to the back of his neck.

“Mmfff,” he says.

Steve’s chuckle is a warm puff of air against his skin. “I know. But I have to leave. I’ll be back tonight, all right?”

Tony flails an arm in Steve’s general direction without opening his eyes. When Steve catches his hand, Tony grips him tightly. “Be safe,” he mumbles into his pillow.

Steve squeezes back. “I will. No missions today, just bureaucracy. I’ll be home in time for dinner. Barring aliens, or anything equally world-threatening.”

Tony turns his head just enough and Steve kisses his mouth. “Okay. See you tonight.”

“Be good,” Steve says and then the mattress rolls slightly as he climbs out of bed.


	18. A Kiss Between Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laireshi asked for a platonic kiss between Tony and Carol. Set in 616-verse. Mentions of Carol/Rhodey and unrequited/unresolved Tony/Peter.

It was starting to snow.

Carol paused in the middle of the sidewalk and tipped her head back to let the flakes fall onto her face. “When you were little did you ever look up into a snowstorm and pretend you were entering hyperdrive?”

From somewhere behind her, she could hear Tony chuckle. “I might have.” 

"Oh." Carol cracks one eye and grins at him. "Warp drive. Forgive me. I forgot you were a Trekkie.”

"Whatever, you like _Babylon 5._ ”

"You like _Voyager._ ”

"Take that back." 

Carol laughed and held her arms out to her sides. “Fine. We all know you were a Sisko fanboy anyway.”

Tony’s elbow nudged her ribs. “Don’t even pretend you weren’t.”

She grabbed his elbow before he could nudge her again. “I’m more of a Kirk woman myself. He had the best job. Constantly exploring uncharted space, making alliances and ending conflict-“

"Banging hot alien ladies."

"That too," Carol said. She straightened up and hooked her arm through Tony’s. "Except not so much with the banging. I don’t know that my boyfriend would approve."

Tony tugged her closer till they were bumping shoulders. “I have it on good authority that if you discussed it beforehand he’s surprisingly open-minded about certain things. Mind you, he’d want to watch.”

Carol snickered. “I’m not even going to ask how you know that.”

Tony smiled innocently. Snowflakes were starting to cling to his hair. “Hey, Rhodey and I go way back. You’d be surprised the things I know about him.”

She pressed her lips together to hide her grin. “I probably wouldn’t. I know you, after all.”

"Fair enough," Tony conceded. "Though there are those who would argue that comparing Rhodey to me would be doing him a bit of a disservice."

"Oh shut up," Carol said. "Rhodey’d pound some sense into you if he heard you talk like that." 

"Rhodey’s something of an expert on pounding sense into me," Tony said cheerfully. "Have either of us ever told you the story of the hooker with the camera in her bra?"

"I think we should leave a little mystery in our friendship," Carol said.

They walked quietly for a moment. It was late enough that the streets were relatively empty by New York standards, and the snow was falling more heavily every moment. It was beautiful, Carol thought, and she’d miss it dearly. But space.

"Are you okay with this?" she asked.

Tony actually blinked at her. “Of course I am. Don’t be ridiculous. You’re two of my best friends, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

"Not that." It was sweet, though. Carol squeezed Tony’s arm in hers. "I’m flattered, though. I think. No, I meant me taking the next rotation with the Guardians. Don’t even try to pretend you didn’t want to go back."

"I do." Tony stopped and Carol stopped with him, their arms still linked. He had both his hands in his pockets and his head was tipped back to stare at the skies. "I think about it all the time. I think about him.” The expression that twisted his mouth couldn’t be called a smile. “Sometimes I think about just leaving Earth and never looking back.”

"Then why aren’t you going?" Carol asked.

"You trying to get rid of me?"

"Never. And don’t think I’m giving up my rotation for you," she said sternly. "You passed, fair and square. You can wait your turn for the next one."

Tony huffed and his breath fogged crisp and white. “No, I can’t leave Earth right now. There’s too much for me to do and it’s only going to get worse. But soon,” he said, almost to himself. “If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see it all again.” He coughed and seemed to realize they were standing in the snow in the middle of Lexington. “In the meantime, there’s no one better suited than you, Carol. And no one I’d trust with safety of the galaxy before you.”

"And for the record, I’m actually really glad that you’re okay with me and Rhodey. Not that I’d stop if you weren’t," she added. "But I’m glad anyway."

"He’s crazy about you, you know." Tony looked at her for the first time since they had started walking. "He’s going to miss you. He already can’t shut up about it. If you’re even a day late getting back it may kill him."

"I’ll just have to do him proud out there, won’t I?"

"Don’t be silly." Tony started walking again, tugging at her arm as he did. "We’re all proud of you already."

"Flatterer," Carol said. She leaned over and pressed a kiss against his cheek. His stubble was scratchy against her lips and his skin was chilled from the cold. "We’re proud of you, too. And you’ll see the stars again, Tony. I know you will."

For just a moment something dark and terribly lonely flickered across his face. Then it was gone before she could figure out how to ask him about it.

"I hope you’re right," he said. "Come on. I have it on good authority there’s someone at the Tower who’s anxious to see you before you leave."


End file.
